Tick attachment cement – reviewing the mysteries of a biological skin plug system

• Published in: Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society Vol. 93; no. 2; pp. 1056 - 1076
• Main Authors: Suppan, Johannes, Engel, Benedikt, Marchetti‐Deschmann, Martina, Nürnberger, Sylvia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2018
• Subjects: Adhesives; Amino acids; Anchoring; Animals; Arthropod Proteins - chemistry; Arthropod Proteins - physiology; artificial feeding; bioadhesives; Biological Products; Biomaterials; blood feeding; Cement; Cement constituents; cement plug; Curing; Feeding Behavior; Glands; Glands (seals); Glycine; Humans; Immune system; Ixodidae; Literature reviews; Medical research; Mouthparts; Mussels; Original; Proteins; Salivary gland; Salivary glands; Salivary Glands - physiology; Sea urchins; Skin; Ticks; Ticks - physiology; artificial feeding; cement plug; ticks; bioadhesives; salivary glands; Ixodidae; blood feeding
• ISSN: 1464-7931; 1469-185X
• DOI: 10.1111/brv.12384

ABSTRACT The majority of ticks in the family Ixodidae secrete a substance anchoring their mouthparts to the host skin. This substance is termed cement. It has adhesive properties and seals the lesion during feeding. The particular chemical composition and the curing process of the cement are unclear. This review summarizes the literature, starting with a historical overview, briefly introducing the different hypotheses on the origin of the adhesive and how the tick salivary glands have been identified as its source. Details on the sequence of cement deposition, the curing process and detachment are provided. Other possible functions of the cement, such as protection from the host immune system and antimicrobial properties, are presented. Histochemical and ultrastructural data of the intracellular granules in the salivary gland cells, as well as the secreted cement, suggest that proteins constitute the main material, with biochemical data revealing glycine to be the dominant amino acid. Applied methods and their restrictions are discussed. Tick cement is compared with adhesives of other animals such as barnacles, mussels and sea urchins. Finally, we address the potential of tick cement for the field of biomaterial research and in particular for medical applications in future.